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News OPTi claims infringement by Nvidia

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by CardJoe, 11 Dec 2009.

  1. CardJoe

    CardJoe Freelance Journalist

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  2. DarkLord7854

    DarkLord7854 What's a Dremel?

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    You can own patents, never use them, and still retain them..? Wtf..? Seriously..? Wow.

    Seems utterly retarded IMO.. if you patent something, you should either make use of it AND license it, or lose it.

    Meh.

    Either way though, nVidia made a deal.. Soo hope they get their fingers stepped on
     
  3. mi1ez

    mi1ez Modder

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    But I don't WANT only one choice of GPU Manufacturer...

    And I don't think a company can exist purely to own patents...
     
  4. mi1ez

    mi1ez Modder

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    That should potentially have read "should"
     
  5. TWeaK

    TWeaK Guest

    What's with this bias against only some IP companies? This site publishes all sorts of articles about ARM processors, yet not once have I seen a condemning statement about the company ARM. ARM don't actually make anything - their business model is based purely on R&D and the technologies they invent.

    It's obviously not good if someone invents something and someone else patents it and doesn't let anyone else use it, but in my eyes if you invent something you're fully within your rights to only license it and take royalties and not produce products yourself. In this case, it seems open and shut. Nvidia agreed to the license for tech created by OPTi, and have now broken that agreement, so should pay the consequences.

    The only thing I can't agree with is people or companies who patent technology and then won't license it. For example, Intel's x86 license or any number of technologies owned by oil companies.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: 11 Dec 2009
  6. erratum1

    erratum1 What's a Dremel?

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    Of course their a patent troll living off the back of others, but their not doing anything wrong. They own the patents and nvidia, intel, ati etc all have their own patents.
     
  7. yuusou

    yuusou Multimodder

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    Down with patent trolls. As stated above, just "thinking" up something shouldn't be enough to patent something. They should produce too, to keep the patent's rights.
     
  8. Phil Rhodes

    Phil Rhodes Hypernobber

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    Well it should, but it should be possible to contest patents on the basis that the owner has no intention of developing them.

    Bugger to prove, of course.
     
  9. TWeaK

    TWeaK Guest

    Usually just 'thinking up something' isn't enough to warrant the expense of applying for a patent. You have to test it both theoritically and with physical samples so that you know your theory works. As such, with all the work that goes into proper R&D usually done before a patent is taken out, it's only right that a portion of the profits from the technology should go back to the people who invented it.

    You might not have the capacity, nor the desire, to go into the manufacturing market, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be entitled to the fruits of your efforts.
     
  10. evanjdooner

    evanjdooner Booty like POW!

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    Patents exist as a means to stimulate invention. A company that invests in R&D and licences patents is fine. A company that buys up patents without any intent to further research, develop or market these ideas but just licence them is not in the spirit of the patent system, It is simply a tax on innovation.
     
  11. Bob1234

    Bob1234 What's a Dremel?

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    Not to mention that ARM USED to develop and make things, but as their market shrank, they moved to licensing their IP out to others instead.

    And totally agree, if a company just sits on patents and makes no effort to use them, they should lapse, be it a recently filed one or one filed a few years ago.
     
  12. RichCreedy

    RichCreedy Hey What Who

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    I to hate patent trolls, who simply exist to make money from an idea they have no intention of making or continuing research to improve. If ARM are continuing research and development into items that they patent, they are not patent trolls.

    x86 is licensed to other companies, so cant be used as an example, also intel do still manufacture x86 chips.(via and amd have x86 licences)

    patents were more of a good intentions protection racket, which is now stifeling innovation, and should no longer exist, or at the very least, allow for patents to be overwritten if improvements are made to the original design.
     
  13. paisa666

    paisa666 I WILL END YOU!!!

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    To patent something you need to do research and prove it works, who is saying that by patenting something and no making products out of it is equal to not continuing doin research?. When this is actually what OPTi is dedicated to.

    right know they're doing research in many fields and the way they invest in their investigations iis getting paid by others to use their patents, is nothing out of normal and is their right todo so.

    I dont see anything wrong about this, and if nVidia signed an agreement to use their patent and is failing to pay, then ofcourse they have to be demanded.
     
  14. Kalcifer

    Kalcifer If you want change, start with yourself.

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    If you have invented something, then fair enough, it's yours and you can do with it as you like, manufacture it, licence it, sit on it, whatever you like.

    BUT... if you have bought that patent with the sole purpose of preventing that technology from reaching the market, I find that quite disgusting.

    If you have bought that technology as a "middle man" with intention of reselling it, that’s more of a grey area, I don't like it much, but it could be that companies like this have the connections that accelerate the inventions adoption to the market place, years faster than an un-known inventor.

    Remember this though, patents are expensive and difficult to get, it’s not fair to attach more strings to an already very high risk investment for NEW patents.
     
  15. TheUn4seen

    TheUn4seen What's a Dremel?

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    Well, then Intel, AMD-ATI, nVidia and many others would lose many, many patents. Every huge company is a huge patent troll - they buy technologies that could threaten them, patent them and shove them into the cellar so nobody can use them. nVidia and Intel alone killed dozens of innovative and breakthrough technologies this way. They don't use most of those patents, just sit on them so nobody can use them. Remember that big companies don't care about innovation, they just need to be a small step ahead of competition, putting as little money into R&D as possible.
     
  16. rickysio

    rickysio N900 | HJE900

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    They used to do research. Now they're just trolling.
     
  17. Kalcifer

    Kalcifer If you want change, start with yourself.

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    I agree, all they do now is attempt to sue other companies for extortionate amounts of money, sometimes it’s the giants like Nvidia, Intel, Microsoft but often it’s the smaller companies which are left devastated after the giant multi million pound lawsuits that companies like this use are done with them.
    Companies like this DO damage competitive growth and people livelihoods, and they should be stopped.
    Each patent infringement lawsuit usually costs the defending company £1-3 million even if they do win, they usually end up paying several hundred thousand to avoid this. That is how these Trolls earn their money, through fear and intimidation of multimillion pound lawsuits, its easy to forget that its the smaller companies that people like OPTi hurt most.
     
  18. staff2

    staff2 What's a Dremel?

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    "OPTi - which doesn't actually have a business, per se"

    So any company that uses property as a way of generating revenue is not a business? If not for copyrights, there would be no Disney, no MGM, no Columbia pictures/records, etc. What about land owners, oil and gas leases? Without patents Western Union would have steamrolled Bell and AT&T, or more likely we would still be sending telegrams instead of emails. Think again.
     
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